The estate had gone quiet in a different way now.
Not tense.
Just… uncertain.
Like everyone had just watched something shift without knowing exactly how.
Naoya stood there for a moment longer.
Still processing.
Still standing.
Still not arguing.
Takeru stretched casually like nothing important had just happened.
Then turned back toward him.
"I expect better things from you, cousin."
A pause.
"As long as I'm your cousin."
Naoya's eye twitched once.
But he didn't deny it this time.
Takeru tilted his head.
"…Now then."
A small grin returned.
"Where were we?"
Silence.
Yuji slowly raised a hand.
"…You were about to get jumped by like six people."
Maki immediately crossed her arms.
"…Correct."
Nobara nodded.
"…Still pending."
Reina, Aika, Yorozu, and Hana all quietly looked away again, the earlier tension still lingering but now… different.
Less panic.
More confusion.
Gojo stepped in between everyone with a grin.
Satoru Gojo
"…Alright alright, let's not restart the violence arc."
Geto sighed beside him.
Suguru Geto
"…Too late for that."
Fred slowly raised a sign from behind Takeru.
"Suspended violence."
Nanami adjusted his stance slightly.
Kento Nanami
"…I vote we don't continue any of this."
Higaruma nodded once.
Hiromi Higuruma
"…Agreed."
Takeru looked around.
Everyone staring at him again.
Waiting.
He shrugged.
"Fine."
A pause.
"Beach reset?"
Yuji blinked.
"…That's not a thing."
Hakari immediately raised a hand.
"…I vote yes anyway."
Kirara sighed.
"…Of course you do."
And just like that—
the tension dissolved again into something strange and unstable.
Not peace.
Not chaos.
Somewhere in between.
Naoya stood quietly for a moment longer.
Then looked away.
Not fully changed.
But no longer the same as before either.
And Takeru?
Already walking back toward the group like nothing happened.
"…Beach reset it is."